“Play the Beginning” in Hitman’s Beta with New Trailer; Coming to PS4 This Week, PC Next Week (UPDATE)

[UPDATE] In addition to the new trailer, Square Enix also released a Q&A on the official Hitman page with more information on what to expect from the upcoming beta this week for PS4, and on PC next week.

Like in the trailer, Square explained that the beta will take place in the opening of the final release, with the Prologue setting up Agent 47’s involvement with the ICA and meeting his long-time handler, Diana Burnwood, while also introducing the game’s mechanics and various new features.

Access to the beta will only be granted to pre-orders of the PS4/PC digital versions of the game, not the physical editions, whether that’s for the Full Experience, Intro Pack, or Collector’s Editions of the game, which you can find links for below:

SCEE regions (Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania)
The PS4 Beta is scheduled to start at 11:00 CET on February 12th 2016 and end on February 15th at 11:00 CET.
(It’s at this time that you’ll see the Beta in the PSN Store. Anyone with an active pre-order will be able to download it.)

SCEA regions (United States, Canada and Latin America.
The PS4 Beta is scheduled to start at 08.00 PST on February 12th and ends on February 15th at 08.00 PST.
(It’s at this time that you’ll see the Beta in the PSN Store. Anyone with an active pre-order will be able to download it.)

The PC Beta is scheduled to start at 11:00 CET on February 19th 2016 and ends on February 22nd at 11:00 CET worldwide.

Progress in the beta will not carry over to the game’s initial release on March 11th, 2016, with players’ progress and stats to be reset once the first episode of the title releases in March. However, Square Enix has assured players can capture and share screenshots, videos, or livestream their gameplay all throughout the beta period on both platforms.

The download size for the beta will run up at 4.7GB for the PS4 version of the beta (ironically close to Agent 47). While a specific size was not revealed for the PC version, Square Enix stated “we expect the PC Beta to be a similar size.”

Original story below:

The world of assassination is about to grow with the incoming beta for Square Enix’s rebooted take on Hitman, and those looking to get their mission assignments early will be able to do just that with the game’s beta testing to begin later this week.

A new trailer released through the official Hitman YouTube channel revealed that the beta for Hitman will commence on PS4 beginning on February 12th, 2016, followed by its release on PC one week later on February 19th, 2016 – the beta has not been announced for Xbox One at this time, and beta access (so far) only being granted by pre-ordering the game.

The new trailer also gives a bit of some background for the title and what players will experience, with the latest trailer showing the origins of Agent 47 joining the ICA and the beta to let players experience the beginnings of their assassination career for the upcoming title.

Hitman will begin its episodic release starting on March 11th, 2016 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC – in the meantime, you can check out the new beta launch trailer below:

Ryan is the Features Editor at DualShockers, with over five years' experience in the world of video games culture and writing. He holds a BA in English & Cinema from Binghamton University, and lives in New York City.